Circle Time
Circle time is a full class group activity that happens several times a day. Circle time teaches children how to sit appropriately, take turns, participate, and listen to others. Circle time usually consists of music, movement in place, singing, and learning of new concepts. During morning, we start off with a warm-up song (that a student chooses), sing good morning to each other with instruments, sing either nursery rhymes or color songs, and calendar. Calendar gives students exposure to the calendar work they will be doing in kindergarten. the second circle time of the day consists of zoo-phonics, counting with movement, and a lesson goal that ties in with our unit. Before nap time, students come together for another circle time in which we share what we did today and practice listening to peers. We then do our "rocket goals" which is a school goal (i.e. sitting nicer, beginning work quicker, etc) that the student helps decide. When a student reaches their goal, their rocket moves up one cloud. At the top of 5 clouds, students receive a "tiger paw", the school reward system, and come up with a new goal. The last circle time of the day is goodbye circle. We sing a finger play song (i.e. itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus, etc) and say goodbye to each other.
Centers
During center time, students may choose from 9 different centers: class library, fine motor, imagination, letters, math, kitchen, games (turn-taking), art,drama, and science. Up to 3 students may participate in the centers at once, and it is highly encouraged and praised if students choose centers with other peers. Centers are an opportunity for students to build social skills and learn new skills such as how to ask someone to join in play, turn-taking, sharing, and cleaning up. Each center time lasts for about 15 minutes and students are expected to clean up and switch centers at the sound of the timer. students visit 3 centers per day and must go to 3 different centers the following day. During centers, students are given 1:1 adult time to address IEP goals and teach new skills through various play.
Table Time
Morning table time is when students complete fine motor tasks while they wait for their classmates to arrive and for school to officially start for the day. Student must first complete a page in their morning workbooks (tracing, drawing, writing) and then may choose from any of the fine motor tubs to bring to the table. Other table times throughout the day involve fine motor tasks tied in with our unit of study. Students may do an art activity or a game.
Cooking Days
Occasionally the class will have cooking days in which students have a chance to work together and practice following directions in order to make a snack for themselves and their classmates. Making their own snacks provides a chance for life skills and also encourages students to try new foods. We join the other preschool class, Rm 12, for cooking days.
Game Day
Students play a board game in small groups to learn sharing, turn-taking, patients and academic skills. We play a game every Wednesday. Some games include: Don't break the ice, Zingo, Candyland, Chutes and ladders, and Boggle.
Nature Walks
Students will go on a walk on the campus and look for an interesting object to take back (or take a picture of). We will practice how to use whispering voices and we talk about what we see. Back in the classroom, we talk about what we found and describe how it looks using words. Then the students will take turns to draw and color a picture of the object. We will hang up our findings on the class door.
Thematic Units
The curriculum for preschool is broken down into several thematic units throughout the year. These units come along with art, cooking, science, math, and social studies activities. These units are also tied in with the Hawaii Preschool Standards (which are different from the Hawaii Common Core standards that are only for grades K-12).
Field Trips
Field Trips are tied into our thematic units. We attend field trips with other preschools in our area (Maemae, Kahala, Lincoln, Royal, etc). Some field trips include Kaimuki fire station, a pumpkin patch, Honolulu zoo, Chinatown, and more. Parents can chaperone as long as there is enough room on the bus. Please let us know in advance if you plan on coming with us on a field trip. Wear your field trip shirt so we can easily see your child. We will add a painted stamp to remember each place we visit. Parents can purchase shirts as well.